The present invention relates, in general, to a displacement machine for compressible media.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
Displacement machines of this type are known, for example from German patent document DE-A-33 13 000 and European patent documents EP 0 557 598 A and EP-A-0 371 305, and include a housing which is comprised of two housing portions and accommodates a displacement body. The displacement body is supported by a bearing upon an eccentric disc. A drive shaft, supported in the housing by two bearings which oppose one another in relation to the eccentric disc, extends through a housing wall on its drive side to supports on its drive-side end a drive disc which is connected with a drive. Counterweights are connected with the drive shaft and accommodated in lateral housing walls in close proximity of the eccentric disc in an attempt to prevent a bending of the drive shaft during operation, in particular when high rotation speeds are involved.
During operation of a displacement machine, several, substantially crescent-shaped work spaces are enclosed in the displacement or feed chamber between the spiral-shaped displacement body and the two circumferential walls and move from the inlet through the feed chamber to the outlet, with their volume steadily decreasing and the pressure of the work fluid increasing accordingly. A compressor operating in accordance with this principle is characterized by a low-pulsating transport of the gaseous work fluid, e.g. air, and could thus be utilized advantageously i.a. for charging purposes in internal combustion engines.
It would be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved displacement machine to obviate prior art shortcomings and to keep a bending of the drive shaft during operation to a minimum, even when operating the displacement machine at high rotation speeds.